Enclosures or cabinets for electronic equipment are commonly fabricated of metal to provide a supporting enclosure which also forms a continuous grounded conductive surface that affords electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) compliance. It is also occasionally necessary to interrupt the continuous conductive enclosure surface. One example is the mounting of storage devices in electronic equipment which must be accessible from the enclosure exterior for the insertion and removal of storage media such as disk drives or tape drives used in information handling devices. Although the devices mounted at the cabinet opening are enclosed in metal or otherwise conductive housings to preclude EMI problems, spaces can exist between adjoining devices which must be sealed for EMC purposes,
The EMI gasket between adjacent components must provide a continuous seal against both confronting component surfaces and make an adequate contact to ground any charges intercepted by the gasket. In addition, the gasket assembly must be easy to install or remove to accommodate servicing the electronic equipment. Since devices installed at the enclosure cabinet opening may occasionally be removed for service or replacement, the gasket assembly must be capable of easy removal and reinstallation without compromising the gasket function.
A problem often arises wherein the compressive force of the gasket against the confronting surface which is effective to form an adequate seal is greater than the force that is acceptable for assembly and disassembly. Assembly and disassembly must be enabled without compromising optimum design force and required sealing effectiveness.